Sumpter Township updates year-old COVID-19 plan

At its regular meeting via zoom on May 11, the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees approved a revised COVID-19 . preparedness and response plan, replacing the March 2020 plan.
Finance Director Michelle Cole said she worked with attorneys to remove the terminology that was out of date and added relevant laws and put them together.
Trustee Matt Oddy said he wanted to change the wording on who would be “worksite coordinator,” removing Cole’s name and adding the supervisor or his or her designee.
“The preparedness plan has to be followed,” said township attorney Rob Young. “If you don’t, MIOSHA could file a violation.”
The board unanimously approved the plan with the addition of Trustee Oddy’s amendment.
In other business during the one-hour-and-six-minute township meeting, the board:
• Heard Trustee Tim Rush add a last-minute item to the agenda for the township board to pay half of the $3,150 cost to replace signs for Banotai/Sherwood Park. The Parks and Recreation Commission would pay the other half. Rush said some of the signs are in pretty bad shape and are bent and fading. The board added the item to the agenda and then approved it;
• Heard Supervisor Tim Bowman announce the Futernick case is finally settled and the township received over 100 permit requests from the owner of the mobile home parks. He also announced that Forgotten Harvest has announced it is looking forward to setting up in Sumpter Township to service the community. He also said Finance Director/Deputy Supervisor Cole has obtained $30,000 in grants for COVID-19;
• During his attorney’s report, Young said the order was entered with the court that day settling the Futernick lawsuit, after 2.5 decades of on-and-off litigation. He also included in his report a resolution on a new policy on paying off exiting employees. When the board approved his report, that included approving the resolution;
• Heard Trustee Peggy Morgan ask Young about what’s going on with the Moose. Young said the Moose is unable to complete the land contract and the property will go back to the township without penalty. He said he understands that Moose International will give it back to the township. He said three months ago he had a meeting with Moose manager Robert Coutts. Payments had been suspended to the township, but they were due to be restarted on March 1. “I’m still waiting for confirmation and am not dealing with rumor or innuendo,” Young said. Trustee Morgan asked if it wouldn’t have been better to let the whole board know what was going on, when he knew for three months. Young said he didn’t know for sure but in the future if it’s something the board needs to know, he’ll tell them. “If they made it public and put it in the paper, it’s up to them,” Young said. Morgan said she was never notified by the township or the Moose, although she is a member of Women of the Moose, and she had to read about it in the paper;
• Approved a motion to extend zoom meetings through the month of May and stop zoom meetings when the state mandate ends; and
• Discussed a request by avid recycler Brian Blackburn to make the rules clear at the recycling center. He wants to know if items need to be sorted or not sorted, because it changes. He asked for consistency. Board members suggested the basic rules be put on a sign there and rules also should be on the website.